Gusty winds and rainy spells target Northern Ireland and Scotland into this weekend

Storminess will continue this week, as another windstorm aims for Northern Ireland and Scotland.

A storm will cross just north of the British Isles Thursday night and Friday, sending wind and rainy spells to the United Kingdom.

Unlike the storm that brought widespread rain and wind into parts of South West England, the impacts with this storm will stay off to the north.

"The main area to watch for stronger winds will be western Northern Ireland and into northern and western Scotland," AccuWeather Meteorologist Rob Richards said.

"Wind gusts will be the strongest along the western and northwestern facing coasts."

Rain and wind will move into Northern Ireland and the Western Isles and Highlands of Scotland by Thursday afternoon and will continue into Friday morning.

Wind gusts are expected to top 60 mph (96 km/h) across these areas, with winds up to 75 mph (120 km/h) along the coastlines and in the highest elevations of Grampian Mountains.

Farther south, wind gusts could still reach 60 mph in North West England and northern Wales.

"For the most part, southern England will miss out on the wind from this storm. It could still be breezy as the front moves through, but wind speeds will be far lower than those in Scotland," Richards said.

The heaviest rain will also remain off to the north, with the heaviest in Western Scotland, North West England and Northern Ireland. However, rainfall amounts will likely remain below 25 mm (1 inch).

Lighter showers and lower rainfall totals are expected through the rest of England and Wales.

In missing out on the storm, southern England will have well above-normal temperatures. While London normally would have a high around 6 C (43 F) in late January, Friday's high will be around 12 C (54 F), a temperature much more typical of late March.

Despite the storm moving away on Friday, additional rainy spells are likely into the weekend.

Rain will likely increase for Wales and Southern England on Friday night and into Saturday. Outbreaks of rain and wind are also possible on Sunday.